Sunday, June 03, 2007

I've been super busy at work lately so I haven't had too much time to bake in the evenings like I normally do. But when I saw this French style "grandmother's cake" on Molly's blog, I knew I had to try it right away. Luckily it takes no time at all to mix up the batter and get it in the oven. My ancestors may not have been French, but there's something so nostalgic and comforting about the flavor and texture of this cake. It's not quite a sponge cake nor is it a pound cake. Some of the ladies at work absolutely loved this cake and they kept asking for the recipe. So, ladies, here it is!

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Line with a parchment circle and butter the paper.

In a large bowl, mix the yogurt, sugar, and lemon zest with a wooden spoon. Mix in eggs (all 3 at once is okay).

Add the flour, baking powder, and poppy seeds. Mix until flour is just incorporated.

Add the oil and mix well. The batter will look curdled at first but it will come together.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan.

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, until your cake tester is clean and the cake springs back when lightly touched.

Allow cake to cool in pan on a rack for about 15 minutes.

Gently remove cake from the pan and set on a rack to cool completely.

Combine the lemon juice and powdered sugar and spoon it gently over the cake. The glaze will be thin and will soak in like a syrup.

Notes: For my version, I made some modifications to Molly's recipe. ~ I used meyer lemons because my tree keeps on giving.~ I added some poppy seeds. You can omit them or even increase the amount from 1 tablespoon to 2 tablespoons.~ I decreased the amount of canola oil and increased the amount of yogurt.

Mary, thanks for your adaptation of the recipe. I made this today but I used a loaf pan. It was so easy to make and the results so satisfying. The only problem I had was when I poured the sugar syrup over the cake it went straight to the side, so I pierced the surface of the cake with a tooth pick to help the absorbtion of the syrup. This recipe is a keeper!

Thank you so much for the recipe! I am not a very good baker, but this is a very forgiving recipe. I did not have poppy seeds (although I would have loved to include them)... but the cake came out moist and delicious anyway!

You've brought me out of baking stupor. For a long, long time I couldn't seem to find the motivation to bake. Nothing seemed interesting. I didn't seem to want to bake anymore.I remember I made a mango peach yogurt many months ago and I remember how soft and delicate the texture was. Till this day, it remains as a fond memory. I googled yogurt cake and your blog came up. I love anything french and this seem to make complete sense to me. I've also started reading some of your posts and I'm deeply touched by how you've been challenged. I'm glad you're over the hill and back to blogging. We are complete strangers, and yet through our words and experiences, we become friends. Please take care and may you be always blessed with good things in your life. Why not? We all deserve to be happy.Love,Mablewww.mabletan.com

No salt? I added about 1/4 tsp of salt because the batter tasted to me like it was missing. I didn't go with lemon flavor. I added 2 tbl spiced chai tea latte mix, then when it was in the pan I distributed coarse bits of brown sugar over the batter and swirled it in like a marble effect.

This basic cake does remind me of one my mother used to make - dense and moist. Great taste!

Hi, thanks for sharing the recipe. i tried baking this cake but mine is not as moist as yours, instead, mine has a very thick texture. but the skewer came out clean. i wonder what went wrong. how do i know if my oven is too hot? can you help me out? appreciate it very much

Thanks for the recipe! Your cake looks real good. I tried to bake the cake, however my cake became solid and deflated. Are we supposed to leave it in the oven to cool or something? I'm really not sure what happened!

The alpine strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is a cousin of the wild strawberry. It's sometimes simply referred to as alpineberry. I love to bake, cook and garden. My blog is a place to share my recipes and other tiny tidbits of my life.